Thermal motor for rewinding clocks or like apparatus



May 10, 1938. REUTTER 2,117,211

THERMAL MOTOR FOR REWINDING CLOCKS OR LIKE APPARATUS Filed Sept. 26, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 JEAN LEON REUTTER iNVENTOR ATTOR N 5.6

May. 10, 1938. J. .REUTTER 2,117,211 THERMAL MOTOR FOR REWINDING CLOCKS 0R LIKE APPARATUS Filed Sept. 26, 19:54 2' Sheets-Sheet 2 l/YVENT'OIQ:

JEAN LEON REUTTER BMXZ/WQ Tram/YE);

Patented May 10, 1938 THERMAL MOTOR FOR REWINDING CLOCKS OR LIKE APPARATUS Jean LonBeutterQParis, France In Switzerland October 10, 1933 Application September 26, 1934, Serial No. 745,564

14 Claims. 01. 18511) Myyinvention has for its object a thermical motor which may be especially used for automatically rewlnding. clocks or like devices, by means of the variations of temperature of the air.

Devices have already been proposed for rewinding clock mechanisms or the like, which use the variation of pressurepr of temperature of the surrounding air, or ofnboth simultaneously.

The motonaccording to 'my invention has an advantage with regard to means known hitherto, in that it allows the use of fluids under very high pressure, thus increasing .to a great extent the production, of mechanical energy. The main feature of the invention consists in that, to produce a mechanical energy, I use the differences or the variations of pressure of two diiferent fluids, the temperature of which varies simul-' asaturated'vapor onthe other hand; or in a gas (or a gaseous mixture) at a temperature higher than its critical point and a mixture of saturated vapors; or in a saturated vapor and a miXture.

of saturated vapors; or in two different mixtures of saturated vapors, diflerentiating by the kind of chemical composition or merely by the proporac tions; or in two gases or saturated vapors issuing from certain chemical dissociations varying with the temperature (for instance, the ammoniacal silver chlorides).

' Another-object of the invention consists in 35 means so designed that the differences of pressure obtained when the temperature of the two .fiuids varies simultaneously, are caused to be transformed into a useful mechan'icaLenergy.

As an example, the motor according. to* the '40 invention may be constituted by a rigid or indeformabl container or receptacle which contains, one of the two fluids. and within .which' another container is mounted. The last named container is resilient and deformable and contains the other fluid. The .mechanical deformations of the second container (deformations due to the diflerence of the variations of pressure of said fluids) are suitably transmitted for rewindlng clock, mechanisms or the like.

According to a further object of this inven- 1 tlon,--and this is especially provided to prevent the lack of tightness in the transmission to the outside of the deformations of the resilient .container--the motor comprises/means to transform an the reciprocating linear movement of said re silient container or receptacle, into a rotary movement around the axis of the rigid container, of an eccentrically mounted mass inside said rigid container on receptacle. The said axismay be horizontal and the rotary displacements of said 5 mass makes ajcertain couple of forces, the reac-' tion of which is applied on the outer container and causes the latter to be rotated on its axis.

into a rotating movement of the mass, may comprise a screw having a long thread, coaxially disposed with said resilient receptacle and connected thereto, said screw cooperating with a suitable nut fixed to the mass.

may comprise a pulley and wire mechanism or a rack and toothed wheelmechanism. sary to obtain a rotation of the screw or of the pulley, always in the same direction, ratchet wheels and pawls may be used.

The attached drawings illustrate a number of 20 examples of realization vof the invention.

Fig.1 shows one embodiment of the device according to the invention, and

Figs. 2 and 3 show two modifications of the 2 mechanism to transform" the reciprocating linear movement of the resilient receptacle into a rotating movement of the eccentric mass.

Figs. 4 and 5 are vertical sections of the apparatus of Fig. l as taken on lines IV-IV and of which is shown at 01-3 This body tis rotatably mounted around its axisby means oftwo shaits I and l respectively arranged at each end of the said body and fast thereto and the bearings are diagrammatically shown at 2 and 3.

To the innerface of the end 4 of the cylinder l, a resilient bellows 5 is secured, which is also absolutely airtight and the free end of which may be freely displaced parallelly to the axis x-y.

The space I comprised within the bellows 5 is filled with a saturated vapor for instance, while the space 22 comprised between the bellows 5 and I the cylinder I contains a gas for instance.

The wall-8 of the cylinder} bears internally a shaft 9 having the same axis :r-y and on this shaft 9 a sleeve I0 is rotatably mounted. The

sleeve ID has an arm I l terminated with a weight I2. A ratchet wheel l3 secured to the sleeve Ill cooperates with a pawl 14 mounted on the wall 8, At its other end, the sleeve l0 comprises a nut I5 distant from the shaft 9. A screw 16 co- Or the transforming device 15 If necesdrical part II rotating in a tubular part I8 secured to the movable wall 6 of the bellows 5. The screw I6 has preferably a long thread and a ratchet wheel I9 may be secured to said screw, to cooperate with a pawl 20 mounted on the wall 6.

The transmission of the movement of the cylindrical body I to the clock mechanism (not shown), may be effected through a pulley 2i pinned to the shaft of said body.

The device works as follows: It is submitted that, for a temperature to, the bellows 5 is in equilibrium under the pressure exerted by the two fluids contained in the two receptacles I and 5.- The gas is disposed in the one receptacle and the saturated vapor in the other, these two fluids being permanently separated and sealed apart, their different behavior at various temperatures producing the useful effects sought. In view of the different properties of the gas and of the saturated vapor, this equilibrium is generally disturbed for a temperature t1, diflerent from to The free wall 5 of the bellows 5 is thus displaced in the direction of the axis H until the equilibrium is re-established. The difference tr-to may result merely from the natural variations of temperature of the surrounding air. when the temperature again changes from ii to to. the bellows 5 takes its initial position.

The displacement of the free wall 8 of the relation to the bellows 5. On the other hand, the

sleeve Iii-and therefore the weight l2--can rotate in one direction only with regard to the [outer receptacle I, this owing to the ratchet wheel I3 and the pawl I4. The ratchet wheel l3 and the pawl I4 are so arranged that the weight I2 rotates in the direction reverse from that of the screw I8. The axial displacement of the free wall 6 of the bellows also causes that of the screw it which, through the nut I8, causes the arm II to be rotated. The linear movement of the bellows! is thus transformed into a rotary movement of the weight.

The axis a:- -y being horizontal, the weight I! (weighing P and distant from the axis :s-u of a length (1) produces, during its ascendant movement, a couple P-d the reaction of which is collected, as a driving force, outside the container I, by means of the pulley 2| or a gear secured to the shaft of said container. If the couple re-' quired is lower than P-d, the container l,is stationary and the weight I2 continues its rotating movement.

In order to increase or to replacev the action of the gravitation, the weight I! may be made of a ferro-magnetic material and one of the poles of a magnet 34 may be located in its vicinity. outside the receptacle I. In this case, the latter is made of a non-magnetic material and the axis x-y is not necessarily horizontal.

In the example illustrated, the rotating move ment of the weight If takes place only in one (11- rection of displacement of the bellows u, this owing to the presence of ratchets I3, I8 and the pawls I4, 20. In the other direction, the weight bears on the pawls and is stationary.

Without departing from the object of the invention, the ratchets and pawls may be omitted, the screw i 6 being for instance secured to the bellows Ii. The rotary movement of the weight I2 changes, in this case, in the same sense and simultaneously with the bellows, thus causing a pendular movement of the receptacle I.

Still without departing from the scope of the invention, one may apply any mechanical means to transform the linear movement of the resilient receptacle 5 into a rotary movement of the weight I2. In Fig. 2, a device is shown in which this transformation is obtained by means of two wires 28 secured to the wall of the bellows 5 and-through the pulleys 24-wound on a drum 26, one clockwise and the other counterclockwise. The linear displacement of the bellows 5 is thus also transformed into a rotary movement of the drum 26, around its axis ;ru and L therefore that of the weight If.

According to a further modification (Fig. 3) a rack 29 is secured to the wall 8, which rack cooperates with a pinion 3i pivoting on -a shaft 32. The pinion 3| is rigidly connected to a toothed wheel in mesh with a pinion 33 to which the arm *II for the weight I2 is secured. The remaining parts of the motor are the same as in Fig. l.

It is to be observed that according to the invention, the walls of the bellows 5 only support the differences of the pressures. exerted by the two fluids and that the outer container I supports the difference of pressure with the atmosphere. It is thus possible, without damaging the bellows, to use fluids under very high pressure (for instance the saturated vapor. of ammonia., of nitrogen protoxide, of" carbonic acid, etc.) and to .obtain great variations of pressure with the variations of temperature.

It will be assumed for instance. that the bellows I is filled up, under pressure, with steam saturated with carbon dioxide, whilst the reservoir is filled up with air under pressure. It will also be assumed that at a temperature of 15 C., the pressure in the bellows 1 and in the reservoir I is of 5 atmospheres.

If the external temperature increases from 15 to l6, the pressure of the air contained in the reservoir Iincreases, as is well known to the extent of 1/,278, that is to say of 0.0183 atmosphere.

. 0n the other hand, the pressure inthe bellows 1 increases from 5' atmospheres to 5.12 atmospheres, that is to say, to the extent of 0.12 atmosphere. It results, therefrom that the wall 0 of the bellows is subjected to a force which, in Fig. 1, tends to displace this wall from the left towards the right; this force is equal to the pressure of 0.12 atmosphere per square centimeter, multiplied by the surface of the wall 8. This surface is chosensufllciently large in order that the force thus created is always greater than the resistance to be overcome.

The screw It is pushed from the left towards the right: conseduently, it tends to enter the nut II. It results therefrom that this nut tends to rotate, when examining Fig. 4, in a clockwise direction, and that consequently, the screw It tends to rotate in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 5); The rotation of the nut II in the clockwise direction is'allowed by the ratchetwheel It and the" pawl I4; the rotation of the screw II Consequently, the nut l rotated, and the arm II with the counterweight i 2 leaves the vertical positionand'takes a position progressively more oblique.

The conditions of equilibrium of reservoir I will now be examined, by considering, therefore, the external forces only, the internal forces (due to the differences of pressure between the interior of the bellows i and the interior of reservoir I) do not intervene in this equilibrium.

The reservoir l is subjected to a resistant torque C and, on the other hand, to a driving torque C1, which is due to the weight of the counterweight i2, which gradually leavesv the vertical plane passing through the geometrical axis of oscillation of reservoir i. At the beginning of the movement of the counterweight l2, C1 is smaller than C and the reservoir i does not move. But after a certain time, C1 becomes equal to C. Consequently, from this moment, the counterweight l2 no longer moves, and, on the contrary it is thereservoir I which begins to rotate, driving the pulley 2 I, in a counterclockwise direction.

This movement continues until equilibrium of the pressures is reestablished.

If, now, the external temperature falls from 16 to 15, it is obvious that the wall 6 received a reverse movement, that -is to say, from right to left, that the wheel i3 tends to rotate in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 4) and that the wheel l9 (Figure 5) tends torotate in a clockwise direction.

The movement of wheel I9 is freely allowed by the pawl20, so that the internal force due to the difference of the pressures, has no driving effect. The equilibrium of the pressures is therefore reestablished ,very quickly and the apparatus is ready to operate, as described, as soon as the temperature again increases.

The arrangementused in Fig. 1 has been devised for imparting to the pulley 2| a discontinuous movement but always in the same direction. In many cases, it is not necessary that this \pulley should have a movement always inthe same direction. In this case, use will be made of the device of Fig. 3, in which the movement selectors constituted by the ratchet wheels and pawls have been eliminated.

Other variations may be resorted to and parts may be used without others within the scope and spirit of the invention.

Having now fully described my invention, I

m'; lfiKn apparatus of the character described, comprising a pivotally mounted rigid receptacle containing afiuid, aresilient receptacle secured within the rigid receptacle and containing another fluid permanently separated from the, first mentioned fluid, an eccentric mass rotatably mounted within said rigid receptacle, a screw mounted on the resilient receptacle and cooperating with a nut secured to said eccentric mass, and means to transmit the rotation of the rigid receptacle to a mechanism for re-winding clocks or the like.

2. An apparatus of the. character described, comprising a pivotally mounted rigid receptacle containing a fluid, a resilient receptacle secured within said rigid receptacle and containing another fluid permanently separated from the first mentioned fluid, an eccentric weight rotatably mounted on a wall of the rigid receptacle, a nut secured to said weight, a screw rotatably mounted on the resilient receptacle and cooperating with said screw, ratchetwheels secured to both the screw and new nut and cooperating with pawls mounted on the walls of the resilient and the rigid receptacles respectively, and means to transmit the rotation of the rigid receptacle to .a mechanism for re-winding clocks or like appa ratus.

3. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a receptacle containing a fluid, a second receptacle within said first named re-' ceptacle containing another fluid permanently separated from the first mentioned fluid, one portion of one receptacle being rigidly connected to a portion of the other receptacle, and opera two receptacles to transform into useful mechanical energy, the variation in the. difference of tive mechanical means interposed between these pressures of the two fluids when the latter are simultaneously subjected to ture.

4. A thermal motor, comprising a receptacle all the parts of which are subjected to one and the same temperature, which temperature is variable, means for dividing this receptacleinto two fluid-tight compartments said means comprising a'movable wall, a compressible fluid for filling up the. first compartment, another compressible fluid having diiferent properties for filling up the second compartment, and operative mechanical means interposed between said movable wall and a portion of the rigid receptacle for transmitting to the exterior the movements of the movable wall.

5. A thermal motor comprising two fluid-tight a varying temperareceptacles subjected to one and the same tern perature, which temperature is variable, two compressible fluids having different properties for respectively filling up each receptacle, a movable mechanical member, means connecting a portion of one receptaclerigidly with a portion of the other receptacle. and operative mechanical means for-simultaneously and differentially transmitting to said movable member the) pneumatic pressure of each receptacle.

6. A thermal motor, comprising a first fluidtight receptacle, a first compressible fluid condifference of the pressures in both receptacles,

which are simultaneously subjected to the same variable temperature, including a portion upon the second receptacle fixed to a portion of the first receptacle, and operative mechanical means in contact' with both receptacles and capable of being actuated by the movements of predetermined portions of one receptacle with respect to the other.

'7. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a pivotally mounted rigid receptacle, a fluid having certain properties for filling up the said receptacle, a resilient receptacle secured to 7 4 and inside the rigid receptacle and subjected to the same temperature, a fluid having different properties and permanently separated from the first fiuid filling the said'receptacle, and means associated with both of said receptacles within the outer receptacle and actuated by said resilient receptacle serving to transmit outside the apparatus the relative displacements, of said receptacles, displacements produced by the variation in the difference of the pressure of said fluids when the surrounding temperature varies, and to transform said displacements into useful mechanical energy.

8, An apparatus of the kind described, comprising a pivotaliy mounted rigid receptacle, a fluid for filling up the said receptacle, a deformable receptacle within said rigid receptacle and subjected to the same temperature, a; diflerent fluid "for filling up said distortable receptacle permanently separated from the first mentioned fluid, means operatively connecting said recep-i tacles to transmit outside the relative movements of said receptacles, the displacements produced by the variation in the difference of the pressure of said fluids when the surrounding temperature varies, and t0 transform said displacements into useful mechanical energy.

9. An apparatus of the character described,

comprising a pivotally mounted rigid receptacle,

a fluid for fllling up said receptacle, a deformable receptacle secured within said rigid receptacle and subjected to the same temperature. a different fluid for filling up said distortable receptacle permanently separated from the first mentioned fluid, an eccentrically .disposed mass operatively connecting said receptacles to transmit outside the relative displacements of said receptacles, displacements produced by the variation in the difference of the pressure of said fluidswhen the surrounding temperature varies, and to transform said displacements into useful mechanical energy.

10. Ar apparatus of the character described, comprising a pivotally mounted rigid receptacle, a fiuidfor filling up said receptacle, a res lient receptacle secured within' said rigid receptacle and subjected to the same temperature, a different fluid for filling up said resilient receptacle permanently separated from the first mentioned fluid, an eccentrica lly disposed mass rotatably mounted within the rigid receptacle and operatively connecteddzo the resilient receptacle, to

transmit to the outside of the apparatus the rela-. tive displacements, of said receptacles, displacements produced bythe variation in the difference. of the pressure of said fluids when the surrounding temperature varies, and to transform said displacements into useful mechanical energy.

11. An apparatus'of; the character described,

comprising a pivotally,mounted rigid receptacle,

a gas for filling up said receptacle; azresilient receptacle within said rigid receptacle subjected vto the same temperature, a saturated vapor or filling up said resilient receptacle permanently separated from said gas, an eccentric mass r0- tatably mounted within the rigid receptacle and operatively connected to the resilient receptacle, to transmit to the outside of the apparatus the relative displacements of said receptacles, displacements produced by the variation in the difference of the pressure of the separated gas and saturated vapor when the surrounding temperature varies, and to transform said displacements into useful-mechanical energy.

12. An apparatus of the character" described, comprising a pivotally mounted rigid receptacle, 9. gas above its critical temperature for filling up said receptacle, a resilient receptacle within the rigid receptacle subjected to the same temperature, a saturated vapor for filling up said resilient receptacle permanently separated fi'omsaid gas, an, eccentric mass rotatably mounted within the rigid receptacle and operatively connected to the resilient receptacle, to transmit to the outside of the apparatus the relative displacements of said receptacles, the displacements produced by the variation in the difference of the pressure of said separated gas and saturated vapor, when the surrounding temperature varies, and to transform said displacements into useful mechanical e'nergy. s

13 An apparatus of the character described; comprising a pivotally mounted rigid receptacle. 8, mixture of saturated vapors for filling up said receptacle, a resilient receptacle within the rigid receptacle subjected to the same temperature,

another mixture of saturated vapors for filling up said resilient receptacle permanently separated 'frcnrthe first mentioned mixture of vapors,

aneccentric niass rotatably mounted within the rigid receptacle and operatively connected to the resilient receptacle, to transmit to the outside of the apparatus the relative displacements of said receptacles, the displacements produced by the variation in thedifference of the pressure of said separated mixtures when thesurrounding temperature varies and to transform said displacements into useful mechanical energy.

14. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a pivotally mounted rigid receptacle, a fluid for filling up said receptacle 'a resilient receptacle within the rigid receptacle subjected to the same temperature, another fluid for fillingup said resilient receptacle permanently separated from the first mentioned fiuid, an eccentric mass rotatably mounted within the rigid receptacle, means connecting said mass and said resilient receptacle. to transform the relative displacements of the receptacles into a rotating movement of said'mass thereby causing the rotation of the rigid receptacle, and means to transmit said rotation to,a-mechanism for re-winding a clock or like mechanism,

JEAN more REUTTER; 

